The Water Cycle

The Water Cycle

The energy from sun drives the water cycle which in turn drives the weather.

Weather is affected by the amount of water vapor in the air.Water never leaves the Earth. It is constantly being cycled through the atmosphere, ocean, and land.

This process, known as the water cycle, describes the movement of water above, on and below the Earths surface.

The water cycle is crucial to the existence of life on our planet. The sun heats up liquid water and changes it to a gas (water vapor) by the process of evaporation. Water that evaporates from Earths oceans, lakes, rivers, and moist soil rises up into the atmosphere.

EvaporationEvaporation

The process of evaporation from plants is called transpiration. (In other words, its like plants sweating.)

Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air.RELATIVE HUMIDITY-Amount of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum it can hold

The warmer the air, the more water vapor it can hold.

When a large amount of water vapor condenses, it results in the formation of clouds.

As water vapor rises higher in the atmosphere, it starts to cool to its dew point and become a liquid again. This process is called condensation.

When the water in the clouds gets too saturated ,the water falls back to the earths surface. This is called Precipitation.

RainSleetSnowHail

When rain falls on the land, some of the water is absorbed into the ground through the process of Percolation.

This water can either be :Be used absorbed by plant rootsStored in aquifers as Ground Water

RUNOFF Water that flows across the land and collects into streams, rivers and eventually oceans. Water that collects in rivers, streams, and oceans